Low Blood Pressure

[RGJax2014]

I'm on my 2nd Whole30.  Things are going swimmingly, but I am having issues with low blood pressure.  While not Whole 30'ing it, I run in the low normal range.   I'm a huge fan of salt in my food, so pretty sure I'm getting enough.  I'm drinking plenty of water.  Any suggestions for me?

 

Today's meals so far:

Breakfast - 2 cups coffee, one with homemade almond milk, sauteed chicken breast, sweet potato with coconut butter, large glass of water

 

Cup of mint tea

 

Lunch - Slice of meatloaf, carrots, some homemade mayo, apple, orange, cup of black tea

 

Thanks for any help.

[Tom Denham]

I don't have any thoughts about blood pressure beyond salt and water intake.

 

You say you are drinking plenty of water. That means 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight per day to me. You don't look like you are on track for that to me with just one large cup glass of water so far. The 2 cups of coffee and the cup of black tea work as a diuretic. I am not sure you can count them as additional water even though they technically are because they also make you urinate more and reduce your fluid balance. 

 

You like orange food! Sweet potato, carrots, and an orange. I hope you eat all green veggies at supper.

[Guest sareemaree]

When you say low, how low do you mean, and are you symptomatic (dizzy, lightheaded upon standing, etc)?

 

A couple of things that spring to mind: the diuretic effect of caffeine (although if you are drinking enough water this is unlikely to be significant), and a high potassium intake, especially if you are consuming significantly more potassium eating Whole30 (which is highly likely given the emphasis on vegetables). Potassium promotes sodium excretion via the kidneys, with a net blood-pressure lowering effect. So even if you think you are salting generously, you may still need more.

 

Also I see you are in Jacksonville, so while it's probably not as hot up there as it is here in Fort Lauderdale, if you are exercising outdoors you will still be losing fluid and sodium through your skin. 

 

All that being said, if you are asymptomatic, peeing the usual amount (kidney function is very sensitive to blood pressure fluctuations), your heart rate is not elevated above your normal, and you are able to do your usual activities without difficulty, then you probably have nothing to worry about. Even high 80s to low 90s systolic is no cause for worry in the absence of symptoms.

[RGJax2014]

SareeMaree - Low BP meaning 97 / 74.  Normally I run around 110 / 70.  Symptomatic off and on.  Light headed when getting up, and heart rate elevated.  It's not all the time, but enough that it's annoying.  My caffeine level tends to be constant (2 cups of coffee, 1 or two cups of tea) whether on Whole30 or not.  I'm not exercising outside.  I work a fair amount during the day and I have major couch potato tendencies.  I just started yoga (the beginner variety) to ramp up my activity.  BP may also be fouled up because I gave blood last week, and despite my hemoglobin being good (13.3 prior to donation), it hit me harder than normal.

 

Tom, regarding the orange vegetables... "Orange vegetables are easy!".  Sometimes it comes down to something that can technically be called a vegetable so I can plate and go.  That said, I had a salad last night with various green lettuces, and the meatloaf I made had spinach and mushrooms in it.  Over the last week, I ate cauliflower and broccoli, sugar snap peas, and I have a big bag of Kale in the fridge that I need to do something with.   I'll start tracking fluids at the ounce level and make sure I'm hitting the recommendation.

 

Thank you both!

[Guest sareemaree]

Honestly, 97/74 and 110/70 are virtually the same physiologically speaking. Your mean arterial pressure (which you can think of as a sort of "average" of your systolic and diastolic pressures) is about 83 at 110/70 and between 81 and 82 at 97/74. As long as your mean arterial pressure is greater than 65 (and you don't have some other serious medical condition that you haven't mentioned) then you will have adequate blood flow to all your organs. That's not to say that what you are experiencing isn't annoying or frustrating, but just rest assured that it's definitely not dangerous.

 

Blood volume is usually completely restored post-donation within 48 hours. BUT hemoglobin levels take longer to return to baseline, more like 6 weeks. So in addition to water and sodium make sure you are getting adequate iron, folate and B12.

 

One more thing - lightheadedness and elevated heart rate can also be related to low blood sugars. I don't know if this could be applicable to you or not, but it's something to keep in mind.

 

Hope you feel better soon!

[JJB]

Do you add/remove any supplements during your W30? My naturopath seems very bothered by the fact that my BP runs so low (85-90/55-60 typically). I never started having symptoms of lightheadedness upon standing until she put me on some supplements last year to supposedly increase my BP. I can't remember right now what they were...but as soon as I stopped taking them I was fine again. 

[RGJax2014]

Hi JJB! Regarding supplements, no, I've not added or subtracted any.  I try to keep daily meds to the minimum.  :-)

 

Hi Sareemaree, my blood sugars tend to be stable and pretty decent (hover around 90), especially eating Whole30.  Your last post settled my angst down.  Are you in the medical field, or just especially well read?  :-)

[Guest sareemaree]

I'm a registered nurse, and I work in critical care (ICU), where we are pretty much totally obsessed with blood pressure